


Intertwined Souls

by chanstellation



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Side Taeten, all the 00 line and mark are the same age, herin and mark are best friends, hyuck is a gay mess, mark is a closeted gay, nomin is established, side Norenmin, taeyong is marks brother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-05-24 21:44:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14962755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chanstellation/pseuds/chanstellation
Summary: Mark and Donghyuck are childhood best friends, both deeply in love each other. Except Mark hasn’t come out to anyone.





	1. soulmates

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm back with my favourite ship, my kids, Markhyuck! We've been getting so much content these days I'm so happy! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this, it'll have multiple chapters!  
> Important notes:  
> -Mark, Donghyuck, Jeno, Jaemin and Renjun are the same age! But Donghyuck is still a few months younger than Mark  
> -Taeyong is Mark's older brother (my favourite au ngl)  
> -Mark is a panicked gay and we been knew!
> 
> enjoy loves!

Donghyuck has always been the kind of person to dream and think a lot. When he was a kid, he’d dream of meeting Michael Jackson. He would dance for hours in the hope of showing him his skills one day. When his favourite singer died, he cried for hours because he didn’t get to do it. Nonetheless, he kept on dancing and practicing, working as much as he could. While growing up, he started having more dreams. He wanted to visit America, become a lawyer, eat the largest hot dog ever and  _ maybe _ kiss Mark Lee. Well it wasn’t a maybe; he  _ wanted _ to. He thought and dreamt of kissing the boy next door more than anything else. Mark moved in in Donghyuck’s neighbourhood when they were both 7. The new boy used to live in Canada and could barely speak Korean, but for some reason, Hyuck wanted to be with him all the time. And so he was. Their moms met a week after they moved in and decided that their sons had to meet and would become best friends. They weren’t wrong. Donghyuck was very energetic and loud whereas Mark was quiet and laid-back. They were the perfect match. From that moment on, they were together all the time. Wherever Donghyuck was, Mark was too, and vice-versa. They were in the same class every year until they graduated and to say that their teachers hated them was an understatement. They would both get excellent grades but Donghyuck’s attitude and twisted ideas would always get them in detention -or suspended in the worst cases. The only teacher that ever loved them was their fourth grade teacher, Ms. Soo Kyungmi.

She understood that it was unnecessary to try and separate the two kids and that it was better to help them work together instead. They spent a great year together and even made some friends in their class: Lee Jeno, Na Jaemin and Huang Renjun. The latter was Chinese but his Korean was much better than Mark’s -Donghyuck made sure to make fun of his best friend. One day, as their moms were picking them up, Ms. Soo had a little talk with them and Donghyuck overheard some of it: his teacher was explaining just how great Mark and him were together, “ _ they are like soulmates _ ”. He was 10 at the time and had no idea what soulmates were; he is 21 now and if he had to describe what a soulmate was, he  _ would _ describe his and Mark’s relationship. They’ve been best friends for 15 years, they share an apartment in Seoul and know each other by heart. Nothing has changed since they were 7, Donghyuck still wants to kiss Mark Lee.

It upsets him sometimes, the fact that the man he’s in love with is so close to him yet so far away. Because of course Donghyuck had to fall, not only for his best friend, but for his  _ straight _ best friend. It was frustrating because he had so many opportunities to just lean in and  _ make out _ with him but he just had to hold himself back,  _ every single damn time _ . Like that one time when they had a little disagreement and Donghyuck had to act like the petty brat that he is and not talk to him for a few hours. It was late and he was making dinner -for himself only,  _ of course _ \- and his attitude was getting of Mark’s nerves.

 

“Hyuck, I swear to God stop  _ fucking _ ignoring me.” He didn’t flinch, going on with what he was doing. “Donghyuck, are you for real ? It’s been four  _ fucking _ hours.”

 

He smirked, ‘ _ miss me already, Markie?’ _ , he thought. The smirk didn’t stay for long, though, as Mark got up, fiercely pushing the chair away. Donghyuck raised his head from the cabbage he was cutting, only to be met with Mark’s eyes; he was angry,  _ yes _ , but  _ fuck _ he was really close. The knife slipped through his fingers as he gasped, unconsciously getting closer to his friend. 

 

“Will you fucking talk to me now ?”

 

He was so,  _ so _ close, he couldn’t help but stare at his lips. For a second, he thought he’d seen Mark’s eyes looking at his,  _ but it couldn’t be _ . He blinked and coughed, trying not to look awkward or flustered. 

 

“So, do you want cabbage too ?”, he said, looking back at his food, starting to cut it again. 

 

What he doesn’t know is that Mark feels the  _ exact _ same way. Except he just doesn’t think Donghyuck looks at him as more than his “best bro”. 

 

“Only straight people think that”

 

His older brother, Taeyong, is the only one who knows about his sexuality. He’s told him countless of times that he should  _ just _ come out and that it would change everything, but Mark is stubborn. He doesn’t really know why he doesn’t want to come out to his friends. Maybe it gives him a reason for the inevitable rejection that will follow if he ever confesses to Donghyuck.

 

“He’s in love with you”, Taeyong drunkenly tells him one time. “I mean I’m not sure y’know but-” he hiccups “he looks at you like you’re the most beautiful thing on Earth, man. I probably look at Ten like that too.”

 

“What are you going to do about that ?” Mark answers, ignoring Taeyong’s first statement. 

 

“I think… I think I’m going to tell him.” His brother has been pining over Ten, a guy in his dance class, for two years now. He’s completely in love with the guy but refuses to tell him for God knows what reason since Ten definitely reciprocates his feelings. Taeyong gets up from the bathroom floor where they were both seated. He tries his best to find his balance.

 

“Now ?” Mark asks. His brother doesn’t answer, he just leaves the room. 

 

They’re currently at a party at Jaehyun and Doyoung’s house to celebrate their engagement. There’s tons of people screaming and dancing along to the loud music. He decides to follow his brother downstairs to go back to the party. Should he stop Taeyong ? Yes. Will he ? No. He instinctively looks for Donghyuck and finds him in a corner of the room. He ignores the warm feeling in his stomach as he walks over to the  _ clearly _ drunk boy. He’s standing next to the chimney, talking to Jeno and Jungwoo. Jeno is laughing his  _ ass _ off and Jungwoo just looks confused; he probably drank because he looks even more confused than usual. 

 

“Mark!” Hyuck screams as he jumps on the boy. Mark smiles fondly, holding his friend. 

 

“You good, buddy ?”  _ ‘Buddy ? Really Mark ?’ _ Donghyuck nods as he hides his head in the crook of Mark’s neck. 

 

“Wanna go home” he mumbles out after a few seconds. 

 

“Let’s go then” Mark kisses the top of his head before taking his hand and walking through the crowd until they’re outside. He turns to Donghyuck who’s been pulling at his sweater for him to turn around. 

 

“Piggy” Donghyuck says, too drunk. He doesn’t stand alcohol very well and Mark finds himself taking care of him every time. He turns around and crouches for the younger boy to jump on of his back. He hears him giggle next to his head as he stands back up, putting his hands under the boy’s thighs to hold him. 

 

They start walking towards their apartment as Donghyuck hums the lyrics to a song. It’s silent for a few seconds before Donghyuck suddenly raises his head and starts singing, loudly:

 

“So no one told you life was gonna be this way” and before Mark understands what’s happening, Donghyuck’s hands are slapping his face to the beat. 

 

“DONGHYUCK!” He screams as his friend his laughing on his back. “You scared the life out of me, fuck.” Donghyuck laughs a little more before pecking the back of his head. 

 

“I’m sorry baby.” Donghyuck says before resting back onto Mark’s shoulders. 

 

The latter is freaking out inside,  _ of course _ . He doesn’t say anything but his whole body and face warm up as he turns red. They finally get to their block as Mark’s back is in excruciating pain. The drunk boy lets himself fall from his back when they finally reach the warmth of their apartment. He runs to the speakers and plugs his phone in, playing a song; Mark doesn’t know it. The slow and nice bass starts playing through the room as the singer -and Donghyuck- start singing. 

 

_ “So I heard you found somebody else and at first, I thought it was a lie” _

 

Mark sits at the corner of the couch, observing his friend dancing around the room, singing the lyrics to the song. He smiles when Hyuck is too drunk to remember the lyrics and blushes. He follows him when he offers him his hand and gets him to dance to the song. It’s not the kind of song you  _ would _ dance to, it’s not so happy. But they still do. 

 

_ “I don’t want your body but I hate to think about you with somebody else.” _

 

Donghyuck doesn’t let go of Mark’s hand as they swing around the room and the latter can’t take his eyes off of the younger boy. He is just too beautiful to be real. He’s the most beautiful person Mark has ever seen and no one will ever change his mind. 

 

“Fuck that, get money!” Donghyuck suddenly screams out, getting Mark to laugh.

 

_ “Our love has gone cold you’re intertwining your soul with somebody else” _

 

Donghyuck sings the line looking at Mark straight in the eyes, as if he was singing for him. It hits him that  _ he is _ , when Donghyuck’s lips crash on his. It’s sudden and brief but it happens. Donghyuck continues to sing and dance, finally letting go of Mark as the latter is frozen in shock.  _ ‘What the fuck just happened ? Did I imagine that ?’ _ Another song plays as Mark stays still and Donghyuck continues to dance and before he knows it, the boy is asleep on the couch. Mark knows he should wake him up since Donghyuck is leaving to his parents’ house early tomorrow and will definitely be grumpy if he sleeps on the couch, but waking him up would mean facing him; and Mark isn’t ready for that. Not yet at least. So he just turns the music off, going back to his room, laying on his bed and thinking about what happened. He smiles like an idiot and can’t help but touch his lips, the lips that  _ Lee fucking Donghyuck _ touched; no, the lips he  _ kissed _ . He doesn’t know where this is going but he’s made up his mind : he’s confessing to Donghyuck tomorrow before he leaves.


	2. miles apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark wants to confess but complications come along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! i'm very sorry to update now but the past couple of days have been exhausting  
> I'm almost exam-free and I will probably be updating tomorrow since I wrote two chapters yesterday!  
> let me know what you think of this one !
> 
> hope you're all doing well! have you listened to 5sos' new album ? I love it!
> 
> talk to me on twitter : @chittayeoi
> 
> mae xx

And of course, he doesn’t. Of course, he wakes up too late and even though he rushes to the living room, hoping to be met with the brown haired mess that is his best friend, the house is empty. He is angry at himself because it was supposed to be his moment, his confession, the moment he’s been thinking of for  _ months _ , no, for  _ years _ . He can’t help but slap himself before running to his room to call Donghyuck. 

 

The line rings once, twice, before he hears a muffled noise and finally a voice. Not Donghyuck’s though. 

 

“Hello there Sir.” he recognises Renjun’s playful tone. That means he’s already back in Jeju; Mark swears to himself. 

 

“Renjun! Hey!” Mark tries to sound as calm as possible, not wanting his Chinese friend to suspect him of anything.  _ Had Donghyuck told him what happened ? _

 

“How have you been doing, dude ? You barely ever give any news, it’s like you hate me.”

 

Mark chuckles, of course he doesn’t hate his friend, he just sucks at staying in touch with people. His thoughts are cut short by Hyuck’s voice at the back. It isn’t loud but it’s enough to be made out : “ _ who are you talking to ? _ ” followed by Renjun’s muffled “ _ Mark _ ”. 

 

“I’m guessing you want to talk to your bestie right ?” 

 

“Yeah, haha” his hand instinctively reaches for his neck, scratching it out of nervousness.

 

“Okay okay well bye, fake friend.” Mark can’t help but laugh again. He really misses Jeju. 

 

“Hey.” Donghyuck’s voice resonates through his brain. 

 

“Hey there.” again, he tries not to sound awkward but his hands are getting moist and he feels like he’s going to throw up. 

 

“How are you ? Not too hungover ?” Mark furrows his eyebrows. 

 

“Why would I be hungover ? I didn’t drink anything.”

 

“Oh really ?” he hears amusement in his best friend’s voice “I don’t remember anything from the moment Jaemin dared me to drink three shots in a row.”

 

Mark freezes.  _ Of course _ . Of  _ fucking _ course. He doesn’t say anything because he doesn’t know what to say. His heart is,  _ once again _ , broken. 

 

“Fuck, is it that bad ?” Donghyuck breaks the silence after a few seconds. 

 

“What ?”

 

“Did I do something so bad that you can’t even tell me ?”

 

He hesitates for a second before speaking up.

 

“You kissed me. You were dancing and singing with me after I brought you home, carrying you on my back. And then you kissed me.” 

 

Except it comes out as:

 

“No. You didn’t do anything don’t worry, I was just checking something, sorry.”

 

“Ah, thank God. You scared me for a second.” The younger boy chuckles. 

 

“Uh, I actually have to go, I just wanted to make sure you were fine, I’ll call you back later, yeah ?” Mark says in a rush, trying not to sound too sad. 

 

“Yeah sure. See you later Markie, love you!”

 

Mark hangs up before saying something stupid. 

 

“Why the fuck did you tell him that ?” Renjun asks when the call has finally ended. 

 

“What do you mean why did I tell him that ? I wasn’t going to just mention the fact that we kissed!” 

 

Renjun looks at him with clear desperation on his face. 

 

“Why not ? Why couldn’t you fucking face him for once ?”

 

“I don’t want to get rejected over phone, thank you very much.” Hyuck reaches for his pocket, taking a cigarette out, bringing it to his mouth. 

 

“You’re back to that ?” Renjun asks pointing at the stick that the boy is now lighting up. 

 

“Only when I’m nervous.”

 

Renjun rolls up his eyes. He’s had to listen to his friend talk about his  _ literally undying love _ for Mark Lee ever since Donghyuck found out he was gay. They were 14. It’s been seven years. 

 

“Listen Hyuck, if you don’t do something about this, I will!” he says, in a rush of confidence. It doesn’t seem to work since his friend only laughs at him. 

 

“Go ahead, tell Mark I like him. I’ll tell your idiots back in Seoul how in love you are with the  _ two _ of them.”

 

Renjun blushes instantly at the mention of Jeno and Jaemin. 

 

“You wouldn’t!”

 

Hyuck laughs and blows out the smoke in his mouth before answering:

 

“I might.”

 

Two days pass -and Mark doesn’t text nor call his best friend- before Donghyuck comes back. His train arrives in the late evening and he gets home around 10pm. He assumes his flatmate is asleep, he secretly hopes he  _ is _ . He knows Mark remembers everything and he doesn’t think he’s ready to face the huge change their friendship is going to go through. Wise and straight Mark will distance himself from weird and gay Donghyuck and their friendship will fade, just like Hyuck had feared from the first moment he had realised the nature of his feelings. He’s sad, he’s broken, but he’s Fullsun so he won’t let anyone know. The only person he opens up to about his sadness is Mark, but he’s out of the picture now. He closes the door and takes his shoes off as quietly as he can before going into the apartment. He puts his stuff down onto the couch and his heart stops beating when a half asleep Taeyong comes out of the bathroom. A little squealing escapes his mouth before he jumps into the boy’s arms. Taeyong is like a brother to him. He’s always been there for him, has always taken care of him, and he really wishes he would see him more often. 

 

“Nice to see you too, Hyuckie.” he whispers. Donghyuck assumes Mark really  _ is _ asleep and so he just chuckles against Taeyong’s chest.

 

“What are you doing here, hyung ?” he asks, moving away from the older boy.

 

“Mark told me you were away so I came over to make sure he was eating.”

 

Donghyuck can’t help but blush a little. He knows his best friend can’t cook for  _ shit _ and that he’s, therefore, very dependant on him. He always tells him how much he misses his food every time he goes back to Jeju. 

 

“That’s nice of you.”

 

“Yeah, I just didn’t want to find my brother dead. Would’ve sucked.” they both laugh. 

 

“You seem happier.” the younger notes as he takes his sweater and cap off, seating on the edge of the couch.

 

“I got myself a boyfriend.”

 

Donghyuck’s eyes go wide.

 

“You finally told your Thai boy ?! Oh my God! That’s amazing, hyung!”

 

“Yeah, I was pretty drunk at Dojae’s party and we ended up making out in a room. I was so scared he’d regret it the next morning but he told me he’s been in love with me for months so.” Taeyong looks like he happiest man on Earth. Donghyuck envies him.

 

He wishes his night had gone as smoothly as him. He wishes he’d had the balls to kiss Mark and to tell him how he feels. It really sucks to be in love with your best friend. It really sucks because Donghyuck knows that he’s the most important person in Mark’s life. He knows that no one knows Mark the way he does, he knows that he’s the one and has always been the one that Mark would open up to about everything and anything, he knows he is Mark’s priority. He knows all of that. But he also knows that he’s going to be his best man at his  _ wedding _ with a beautiful  _ woman _ someday. He knows he’ll have to see his best friend grow into a happy man with a wife and probably kids and he’ll just have to stay single and sad all his life because the only man he’s ever been able to love, his  _ soulmate _ , doesn’t love him back. 

 

“Hyuck ?”, Taeyong interrupts his thoughts so he looks up to him.

 

“Yeah sorry. I’m really happy for you!” he cheers his friend up. 

 

“You don’t look so happy” he says, sitting down on the couch next to him. “What’s up ?”

 

He hesitates for a second. Taeyong is probably the only person apart from Mark who doesn’t know he’s in love. He can’t tell him, he trusts him with his life but it’d be too risky. Drunk Taeyong can be too chatty.

 

“Nothing, hyung, don’t worry. I’m just really tired. I’m going to sleep.” He gets up from the couch and realises that if Taeyong is here, it means he has to sleep in Mark’s bed.

 

He groans before leading the way to his best friends room. He opens the door as silently as possible before walking to the bed. He takes off his jeans, socks and plugs his phone on Mark’s charger and snuggles under the cover, instinctively getting closer to his best friend. They’ve been sleeping in the same bed ever since they met and their bodies are so used to each other that even while sleeping, they meet and Donghyuck ends up sleeping in Mark’s arms, their legs tangled together. The older boy wakes up first and is pleased to have his best friend back. ‘ _ Not to be cheesy but he’s so fucking beautiful when he sleeps _ ’ he cheesily thinks to himself. Nothing is awkward about the way their bodies are at that moment, since that’s how they’ve always slept, but Mark can’t help but feel different. Ever since the  _ kiss _ , he can’t help but think about kissing the younger boy even more than he did before. It’s all he thinks about:  _ lips, lips, lips, Donghyuck, lips _ .  He remembers how awkward the first night after puberty hit them was. 

They had spent their 15th summer away from each other and when Mark came back from Canada in September, they had both changed a lot. They were both taller, had tanned, started growing hairs pretty much everywhere and their  _ voices _ had gone lower; especially Mark’s. The latter had also spent all summer working out, going on runs every morning and exercising whenever he wouldn’t be making music. He had also hung out with his  _ bros _ whom were totally different from Donghyuck. So when they met again, they didn’t know how to react. They had both grown up and hesitated every time they had to do something. The younger boy ran to him and Mark was so surprised he didn’t hug him back. He just stood there before the other boy pulled away, awkward. ‘ _ Guess I can’t even hug him anymore _ ’. They spent the day together and things were fine but they didn’t  _ touch _ which was weird for the two boys since they were so used to hugging and holding hands all the time. Mark had told him everything about his trip and his friends, how cool they were, how they went skating every day. 

 

“I can’t skate.” Hyuck answers when his best friend asks him if he’d like to go with him.

 

“I’ll teach you.”

 

The day  _ obviously _ ends with a sleepover at Donghyuck’s. His parents let him use the basement as his new room and he spent the summer repainting and changing it with Jeno, Jaemin and Renjun. He was so excited to show his friend, who was as equally excited as him. They were both lying on the mattresses they messily threw on the ground, making sure they weren’t  _ touching _ . It was when they were watching a movie that Mark finally brought up the  _ touchy _ subject. 

 

“Do you think it’s weird that we hold hands ?”

 

Donghyuck turns his head to him, halfway through eating his pop corn. 

 

“What ?” Mark repeats his question and the younger boy just blinks and tilts his head. “Why would it be weird ?”

 

“My friends in Canada think it’s weird. I tried holding Seb’s hand one day and he called me a “faggot”. So I never did it again. I was just wondering what you thought.”

 

“Do  _ you _ think it’s weird ?” Donghyuck asks, taken aback from his friend’s revelation. The latter shakes his head. 

 

“Of course not. I love holding your hand and hugging you.”

 

For the first time today, Donghyuck can finally breathe. He can’t help but smile when his stomach fills up with butterflies. 

 

“Then why aren’t you ?”

 

Mark suddenly looks at him and gets closer to him, getting Hyuck’s head on his chest as the latter gets comfortable on his new pillow.

 

“What are you thinking about, sleepy head ?” His friend’s voice brings him back to reality. 

 

“You’re calling  _ me _ sleepy head ? I’ve been awake for  _ hours _ !” he playfully answers. 

 

They both laugh and it feels good. Things are normal and Mark feels so good, his face lights up and his chest is warm as he squeezes the boy he loves in his arms, escaping reality for a second.


	3. too close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they have dinner with nomin. chaos ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my last exam is tomorrow!! wish me luck and let me know what you think of this chapter!!

The next couple of days are pretty awkward to say the least. They don’t ignore each other but they almost wish they did; whenever they’re together, they never know what to say, too scared that something might betray the fact that they know. And Mark has caught up on the fact that Donghyuck remembers because he knows his best friends by heart. He knows he doesn’t get awkward and distant for no reason and the only reason he can think of is the kiss. It all piles up in their chests to the point where you could honestly cut the tension with a knife. Until one night, after hours of begging, Jeno and Jaemin finally agree to come and have dinner at their friends’ house. Donghyuck had asked his friends to come and try and make things smooth and nice again to which Jaemin had categorically refused. They had to talk and make things better between them, not drag their friends in the story. 

 

“I’ll ask Renjun if we can FaceTime!” was the argument that got the two boys agreeing -after furiously blushing and smiling like the idiots they were. 

 

Donghyuck isn’t quite sure that whatever relationship his three friends are maintaining is healthy but he supports it. Jeno and Jaemin had been dating for 6 months when they admitted having a  _ crush _ on Renjun. Jaehyun was the first one who reacted, telling them that they shouldn’t worry about it too much. Donghyuck had to leave the room and burst out  _ laughing _ in the closest bathroom because Renjun had been struggling for years on how to handle his crush on the  _ two _ boys. He didn’t want to tell either of them anything, letting them solve their love life out alone - _ unlike him. _

 

“We brought desert!” Jeno says, entering the apartment followed closely by Donghyuck and Jaemin. 

 

Mark smiles at the sight of his two friends. He just got out of the shower and his hair is still wet but he still gets closer to them, hugging them tight. 

 

“It’s nice to see you too Markles but you are wet!” they all pull away, laughing. 

 

“I’ll go dry my hair then.” he says, exiting the room. Donghyuck waits a few second before looking at his friends with a worried look. 

 

“He looks  _ so _ hot when his hair is wet! Why did you tell him to go dry it?” Donghyuck pouts. 

 

The couple looks at each other and laugh as they take their jackets off and sit on the chairs around the kitchen counter. 

 

“We didn’t want you to get a boner halfway through dinner.” Jeno teasingly answers. 

 

“Ew! Over Mark Lee ? Never!” Donghyuck replies, scrunching his nose and turning his back to his friends  _ -officially _ , to put the cake in the fridge,  _ actually _ , to hide the fact that he’s  _ blushing _ . 

 

“Whatever you say!” Jaemin answers, putting his legs on his boyfriend’s lap. 

 

“Ah, can you please stop being so clingy ? In my house at least ?” Donghyuck asks when he turns around, sipping on a glass of coke.

 

“We’re in love let us be.” Jeno kisses his boyfriend. 

 

“I agree with Hyuck. Please let us, single men, live. “ Mark says while entering the room. 

 

Donghyuck chokes on his drink and before he knows it, his three friend are trying to get him to breathe. 

 

“Jesus, Mark Lee, you’re really going to be the death of me.” 

 

The dinner goes by smoothly, things are almost normal between them except when it come to physical contact -which they both avoid like the plague. Until they start discussing the “Norenmin situation”. 

 

“It’s not even a situation, we like him, he doesn’t, that’s it.”

 

“How can you be so sure he doesn’t like you ?” Mark asks, trying not to expose his friend’s feelings for the couple despite the two glasses of wine he’s drank. 

 

“Well, he’s never said anything to either of us and has always been supportive of our relationship even before we got together.” Jeno says, squeezing his boyfriend’s hand. 

 

“Yeah, he was the one who encouraged me to ask Jeno out. He wouldn’t have if he liked me or Jeno, or both. Also Norenmin is a stupid name Hyuck, you could do so much better.”

 

“It’s not easy to confess to your best friend.” Donghyuck notes, ignoring Jaemin’s last statement. 

 

“Yeah you can’t just, out of nowhere, tell your best friend you’re in love with him. Especially when there are two of them.” Mark adds.

 

“Well you could, but it’s not easy.”

 

“I mean it could be a lot for them. To find out that everything that they’ve had since the beginning of your relationship was not platonic. You need to take it nice and slow. Especially if you know that they don’t reciprocate the feeling.”

 

Suddenly the conversation doesn’t seem to be about Jeno or Jaemin or even Renjun. The couple looks at each other and feel  _ very _ out of place. 

 

“That’s ridiculous Mark.” Hyuck snorts. “You’re saying that because the person who  _ knows _ they’re going to get rejected should take things nice and slow for the other person ? I mean it’s not  _ their _ heart that’s going to get broken, it’s mine!” he realises he used a personal pronoun but his best friend doesn’t seem to notice so he doesn’t say anything.

 

“Well maybe if you told them nice and slow, they would take it in a different way and could maybe realise that the feelings are actually reciprocated.”

 

“Oh you really think so, Mark Lee ?”

 

“They’re fighting oh my god, Jaemin I’m scared, they’re fighting.”

 

“I think Jenrenmin sounds better.” Jaemin adds, trying to ignore his boyfriend and his friends’ fight, but no one pays attention to him. 

 

“Yeah I do, Donghyuck.”

 

There’s a silence before the youngest finally speaks up, much to everyone’s dismay.

 

“Well, fuck all your nice and slow Mark. I’m in love with you.”

 

The silence that follows is way louder than expected. Everyone is holding their breath as Mark’s face discomposes. 

 

“You’re what ?”

 

“I’m in love with you. I always have been and you’re an idiot for not noticing it and for breaking my heart.”

 

“I think Nominjun is better since Nomin is already established. It’s like we’re adding Renjun to our relationship.” Jeno stares at his boyfriend in disbelief before slapping his shoulder. 

 

The silence only lasts for a couple of minutes but it feels like an eternity. Mark doesn’t know what to say. He wants to jump around and kiss Donghyuck because  _ of course _ he loves him back. He feels like he’s on the highest mountain, but just like when they were 16, he’s speechless and he doesn’t say a thing. Donghyuck’s heart breaks a bit and a bit more with every second that passes. He sighs before getting up and starting to get the plates in the sink. 

 

“Can I stay at your house tonight ?” he asks Jaemin when he comes back. 

 

The couple nods without even thinking, already getting up. Mark is still frozen on his chair, wanting to hold his best friend, his  _ lover, _ back, but all he can do is finally stand up. Still no words coming out of his mouth. Donghyuck blankly looks at him before inhaling deeply. 

 

“I have been in love with you ever since the age of 14, Mark. I have fallen for everything that you are and everything that you aren’t. You are the kindest, most caring, funniest and smartest person that I know. You are the person that knows me best and I love you for every time you’ve taken care of me and every time you’ve made me laugh. I will always love you, Mark, and there’s nothing you or anyone can do about it. I have accepted rejection for a while now because I know you’re straight and everything so I am fine with you not reciprocating the feeling. But we are best friends and flatmates and I don’t want to lose you over something as stupid as my feelings for you. I will give you the time you need to accept the situation and to tell me what you want us to do. I’m ready to face anything Mark.” He starts leaving again as Jeno and Jaemin just stare at them, not knowing what to say so they follow him. “I’ll come back in a few days to get some clothes. Please take care of yourself.” He finally says before closing the door to their appartement. 

 

Mark is left alone with himself and his thoughts and when the door closes, everything goes dark in his mind. 


	4. the truth untold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they both realise they have to talk and so they do.

A week passes and they still haven’t talked to each other. Donghyuck has been crashing at Jeno and Jaemin’s house, not leaving his room if not to eat or use the bathroom. He’s been skipping classes, not able to focus on anything anyway. He checks his phone every minute, to see if Mark has texted him or tweeted something or even been active on messenger. The answer had been yes. Yes he had been tweeting and been active on messenger but no, he hadn’t texted him. He felt like his “best friend” was totally fine without him and it broke his heart. He cried himself to sleep every night, spending his time rewatching  _ Goblin _ until he’d eventually fall asleep from crying so much. His two friends had been nothing but sweet, buying him his favourite food and cuddling with him, playing with his hair and trying to comfort him every time he’d feel like he wasn’t good enough -which had been happening a lot lately. 

 

“Okay that’s it!” Jeno violently exclaims one morning, slamming his hands against the kitchen counter, startling his boyfriend and Donghyuck. 

 

“What ?” Jaemin quietly asks.

 

“I’m so tired of seeing him” he points to Hyuck “moping around like a kicked puppy. You’ve barely eaten anything and all you do is cry and okay, I love you, you’re my best friend, but this is pathetic. You are going home and you are talking to him. You guys are fucking family, you share the same  _ soul _ , although he’s less demonic than you, BUT, you are not going to fall apart because of some feelings you’ve had for years. So you are going to get your shit together. Today.”

 

Donghyuck and Jaemin look at each other, still surprised -and kind of scared- of Jeno’s sudden awakening. Hyuck nods, sadly and gets up from his seat. 

 

“I’ll go pack. I’m sorry for being a bother.”

 

“Dong-”

 

“It’s fine, I’ll just go back to Jeju. I have to pick some stuff up from home.”

 

“You’re not a bother Hyuck, that’s not what he meant.”

 

‘It’s okay.” and he leaves the room.

 

Jaemin glares at his boyfriend before violently slapping his arm.

 

“Did you really have to be so harsh on him ? So early ?”

 

“I didn’t think he’d take it  _ that _ way!”

 

Jaemin rolls his eyes before joining his friend in his room.

 

-

 

Mark has been coping with the empty feeling in his house -and his chest- the same way Donghyuck has. He hasn’t left his apartment and hasn’t told anyone that his best friend left him. Even and  _ especially _ Taeyong, he knows his brother will scold at him and tell him to talk to Donghyuck. And he  _ knows _ he’s right. He’s just been giving space to his best friend, not wanting to rush him. He also knows he has to confess back but he hasn’t found the courage to; he’s tried to text him many times but never ended up actually sending the message. The only person who knows about anything is Mark’s other best friend, Herin. He met the girl in his first year of college and they had grown extremely close to the point where Donghyuck got jealous of her, many times. She didn’t know about the entire situation though, she still thought Mark was straight and totally not in love with his best friend. She had been visiting Mark everyday this week, making sure he wasn’t starving. The latter knows that if it wasn’t for her, he’d probably be dead by now. 

 

“Still nothing ?” she asks one morning -the same one as Jeno snaps, but they don’t know that- as Mark sighs after checking his phone. 

 

He shakes his head before taking out a mug -that Donghyuck bought him, a Mickey Mouse one- and filling it with coffee. That’s what he’s been living off of for the past days trying to keep himself awake in case he’d hear from his best friend.  _ He didn’t _ . 

 

“You should call him.” Herin advices as he sits on a chair around the table,  _ Donghyuck’s. _

 

Mark didn’t really care about where to sit but Hyuck had always been someone who had habits and changing those habits was a terrible idea. One day, Mark accidently sat on his chair for breakfast and his best friend had the “worst day of his life”, failing an important test, getting caught in the rain and falling in the stairs. Donghyuck obviously blamed him so he never sat on that chair again. 

 

“Are you listening to me ?”

 

“Sorry” he raises his head to her “I know I should but what do I say ?”

 

“You do realise he probably thinks you’re angry or disgusted by him right ?”

 

Mark knows that, which is what breaks his heart. That he didn’t get to voice out his feelings for the younger boy. 

 

“Okay. I’ll call him.”

 

For the first time this week, Herin smiles at his best friend.

 

“I’ll shower and then I’ll call him okay ?” 

 

“You do you, Lee. Just call him, that’s all I want.”

 

He scoffs and finishes his coffee, finding sudden motivation, getting up and going to the bathroom. He looks around the room only to find so much of Donghyuck’s stuff, Donghyuck’s makeup, Donghyuck’s hair products, Donghyuck’s perfumes,  _ Donghyuck _ . He was everywhere. Maybe it’s there and then that he realises that he is surrounded by the boy. Of course he knows he’s the most important person in his life, but he hadn’t realised how  _ present _ he was in it. He is one of his first memories, the person he has loved the most, whom he cares the most for, whom he looks up to the most, who takes care of  _ him _ the most. So many times, Mark had broken down in front of Donghyuck and  _ every single time _ he had been there to hold his hand, caress his hair and find the right words to reassure him. He is his rock and there is no way he is going to lose him. After a few minutes under the water -singing his and Donghyuck’s favourite song- he turns it off and gets out, a towel around his waist. He hears noises in his house and assumes it’s Herin cleaning up, like she had all week.  _ ‘Thank God for Herin, note to self to get her a bombass Christmas present’ _ . He changes into some sweatpants and a white shirt -you guessed it, Donghyuck’s. He hesitates whether to dry his hair or not but decides he’s too lazy to. He wants to call his best friend and even though he’s stressed he’s also so excited to finally talk to the boy and  _ tell _ him. He gets out of the bathroom and realises that the sound comes from Donghyuck’s room. He rushes to it and is met with the boy, throwing clothes into a bag. His heart skips a beat because 1) he’s here 2) he’s beautiful 3) he’s home 4) he looks so tired 5) he wants to roll him in a cover and kiss him 6) he’s fucking back. 

 

“Hyuck ?” his voice comes out more hesitant than he intends to. The boy turns around and Mark is pretty sure he can’t breathe at thay point. He smiles like an idiot. It doesn’t last long though.

 

“I just came here to get some stuff, don’t worry. I’m leaving tomorrow for Jeju.” he continues to shove clothes in his huge -probably Jeno’s- bag. 

 

Mark feels his heart breaking again. He knows it’s his fault and he has to say something. But right when he’s about to speak up, the boy in front of him turns around and laughs. 

 

“You know if you don’t like me, you could’ve just told me. You didn’t have to bring your  _ fucking girlfriend _ home. I get it, you’re straight.” 

 

“Hyuck it’s not-”

 

“I’m so fucking done with you Mark, I gave you a whole fucking week. You just had to text me, anything would’ve been fine.”

 

“I tried but-”

 

“I just hoped you’d care a bit more and I thought you’d tell me something but you’re a fucking coward Mark Lee, that’s what you are. A fucking coward.”

 

There’s a silence as Mark tries to keep calm and brace his strength to finally speak up and Donghyuck looks at him, fiercely. 

 

“Are you done ?” Mark asks. Donghyuck snorts and nods. “Well if you had given me fucking time to explain, then you would know that number one, Herin isn’t my girlfriend. She has just been bringing me food because you know I can’t cook and without you around well.. I would’ve died. No, I couldn’t tell Taeyong because Taeyong knows something Herin doesn’t. He knows something no one else knows” Donghyuck frowns “and if he had been here he would’ve told me to call you, he would’ve forced me to call you and uh he would’ve been right but I needed my time. Which brings us to my number three.” Mark looks a Donghyuck in the eyes, dead serious. 

 

“Please don’t tell me you’re dying, I’ll feel like a dick.” Mark laughs and shakes his head, looking at the floor. 

 

“No, Hyuck, I’m not dying, I’m not sick, I’m fine. I’m just uh, well, not, uh, not straight. I’m actually gay, I always have been you just never let me tell you, you just put me in this case of the straight best friend and I couldn’t just stop being that because well I don’t know to be honest. It just never crossed my mind to tell you that I wasn’t straight. And to be fair, you really never let me! You made me a closeted gay!” he realises he’s rambling and he’s still too scared to look at Donghyuck but he knows he has to for the most important part of his rant. So he looks up to his friend who’s staring at him like he was some kind of god, big round eyes and mouth hanging.  _ ‘He’s so fucking cute’ _ . “And number four.” He takes a step closer to Donghyuck. “From the moment I first met you, Lee Donghyuck, I have been irrevocably in love with you. I just never had the courage to tell you, and for that I’m sorry.”

 

Now he has seen Donghyuck being happy. Like the first time he brought him to Canada or when they found out they had both been accepted in SNU or when they went to Disney together or even when they went to that EXO’s concert in 2016. But the smile Donghyuck is wearing on his face now, nothing could compare to it. He’s  _ beaming _ , shining brighter than the fucking Sun. He opens his mouth a couple of times, as if he was going to say something but he never does. Mark feels a weight is lifted off of his shoulders and he’s smiling too, waiting for Donghyuck to tell him what to do.

 

“Say something please I’m panicking.”

 

“Kiss me.” the younger finally says. 

 

“If you insist.”

 

Mark jumps over the bed that’s separating them and cups Donghyuck’s face, taking in how beautiful the boy looks. His  _ now lover _ puts his hand on his waist, pulling him closer and he finally leans in to kiss him. Their lips meet and they both smile into the kiss. Mark’s hand slip into Donghyuck’s hair to deepen the kiss that grows hungrier although it’s still so  _ soft _ and  _ innocent _ . The younger boy drops his bag and pushes the Canadian boy onto the bed for more comfort. He lets him switch places and go on top of him as they separate for a second, taking slow breaths. 

 

“You’re such an idiot for not telling me, the alpha gay, that you weren’t straight.”

“And you are an idiot for making me fall in love with you.” Donghyuck blushes and smiles and Mark doesn’t think he’s ever been this happy. 

 

“Have you killed- oh my God I’m LEAVING” Herin says as she comes in and out of the room. 

 

They laugh and Mark snuggles into his boyfriend’s -are they ? He’ll ask later- neck, leaving a few kisses, making Donghyuck giggle. 

 

“I missed you so much, Hyuck, I thought I lost you.”

 

“Me too Mark, me too.” they hold each other tighter and he plants a kiss to the other boy’s head. 

 

“But you know what they say” Mark raises his head to looks at him in the eyes “soulmates stay together.”

 

And that’s the moment Donghyuck knows Ms. Soo was right, they really are soulmates. And he’ll never lose him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaand that's it! 
> 
> I'm so happy I'm done with this because I started lowkey hating what I wrote but I couldn't bring myself to leaving you guys hanging here's the final chapter! I hope you enjoy this!
> 
> Let me know what you thought of the work in the comments and expect new content soon! I'm finally on holidays!
> 
> talk to me on twitter : @chittayeoi
> 
> -mae xx


End file.
